THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has rejected claims that government taxes were responsible for the spike in domestic airfares recorded in December.
The clarification was made by the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account yesterday.
He explained that the increase in ticket prices was driven purely by market forces, particularly the surge in passenger demand during the festive season.
According to Achimugu, the fare increases were observed mainly on high traffic routes and are a yearly occurrence linked to increased travel during December.
He added that the aviation sector is not alone in this trend, noting that transportation fares, hotel rates, and food prices typically rise during festive periods.
He stressed that government taxes did not increase in December and therefore could not have caused the hike in airfares, adding that ticket prices usually decline after the second week of January when demand drops.
Achimugu also dismissed repeated claims by some airline operators that excessive taxes and charges were behind the high ticket prices.
He stated that no domestic airline in Nigeria pays as many as 18 taxes, describing such assertions as false and misleading.
According to him, engagements with domestic airlines revealed that they do not pay the volumes of taxes often cited publicly.
The NCAA’s position follows comments by Air Peace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Allen Onyema, who said Nigerians pay the cheapest domestic airfares globally.
Onyema had claimed that airlines retain only about ₦81,000 from a ₦350,000 ticket after taxes and charges, placing operators under significant financial pressure.
Responding to this, the NCAA maintained that while it does not regulate airfares, its consultations with airlines, travel agents, and internal departments do not support the narrative that taxes are responsible for the December fare surge.
Achimugu questioned why tickets sold for as high as ₦500,000 for flights lasting less than an hour when there was no increase in taxes or jet fuel prices during the period.
He also expressed concern over what he described as a recurring tendency to blame the government despite what he called unprecedented support for domestic airlines under the current administration.
He cited recent reforms that allow Nigerian airlines access to dry-leased aircraft, a benefit he said had been unavailable to them for decades.
Achimugu described it as contradictory to claim that Nigerians enjoy the cheapest domestic airfares globally while also justifying the unusually high prices recorded in December, insisting that available data and stakeholder engagements do not support such explanations.